International Criminal Courts for
the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone: A Guide to Online and Print
Resources

by Amy Burchfield

Amy Burchfield is an International and Foreign Law Reference
Librarian at the John Wolff International & Comparative Law Library at the
Georgetown University Law Center. She graduated from The Ohio State University
Moritz College of Law and from Kent State University with a MLIS and MA in
German translation.

Despite vows of “never
again” in the aftermath of the Holocaust, late twentieth century history has
been marked by a series of brutal conflicts that have resulted in war crimes,
crimes against humanity, genocide and other serious crimes. Today, several
international tribunals have been established with the goal of prosecuting
those who commit these crimes.

This guide focuses on
online and print sources relating to the following three international criminal
courts: the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY),
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the Special Court
for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The guide begins with a chart comparing key features
of these three courts. The guide then examines each court individually,
providing an overview of the underlying conflict and general background, an
overview of the court, the court’s basic documents, case law sources, and a
listing of additional print and online sources for that individual court. The
next section of the guide identifies online and print resources that deal with
multiple international criminal tribunals. Finally, the last sections cover
research institutes and educational resources, and other research guides.

I have purposely omitted
several key courts and tribunals from this guide in order to focus narrowly on
the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL. Researchers interested in the International Criminal
Court (ICC) can consult that section within the ASIL
Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law. An excellent
collection of primary materials on the Nuremburg war crimes trials is available
through the Avalon Project. Finally, SMU’s International Criminal Courts guide covers other
tribunals including those for Cambodia, Iraq and East Timor.

Chart Comparing the Three Courts

Date est.

Establishing document

Number of judges

Justiciable

crimes

Chief prose-cutor

Location of court

Official language

Temporal constraints

Geographic constraints

ICTY

May 23, 1993

UN Security
Council Resolution 827 (1993)

16 permanentand

up to 9 ad litem

Grave breaches of
Geneva Conventions of 1949; violations of the laws of war; genocide; crimes
against humanity

Carla Del Ponte

The Hague, The Nether-lands

English and French

(Serbo-Croat is unofficial)

Crimes commit-

ted since 1991

Territory of the former
Yugoslavia

ICTR

Nov. 8, 1994

UN Security
Council Resolution

955 (1994)

16 permanent and 18 ad litem
judges

Genocide, crimes against
humanity, serious violations of the Geneva Conventions of 1949

Hassan Bubacar Jallow

Arusha, Tanzania

English and French

(Kinyarwanda is unofficial)

Crimes commit-

ted between Jan. 1, 1994 and
Dec. 1994

Territory of Rwanda

SCSL

Aug. 14, 2000

Treaty between UN
and government of Sierra Leone

At least 8, and no more than
11

Crimes against humanity;
violations of international humanitarian law; serious crimes under Sierra
Leonean law

Desmond de Silva

Freetown,

Sierra Leone

English

(Krio is

unofficial)

Crimes commit-

ted since Nov. 30, 1996

Territory of Sierra Leone

International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Overview
of the Conflict

In this section I intend
to give a brief overview of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. For a more
detailed account, see Timeline: Yugoslavia.

Since the death of
Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito in 1980 and the fall of Communism in the in
early 1990s, Yugoslavia became increasingly unstable politically and socially.
The resulting ten-year conflict cost an estimated 300,000 lives and was
declared the first official genocide since World War II. Since the break-up of
the former Yugoslavia, six successor states have been formed: Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and
Slovenia.

The Yugoslav conflict was
a series of successive wars that involved intra-state civil fighting and
outside NATO intervention. In June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared
independence from Yugoslavia. After a brief 10-day war, Slovenia succeeded in
becoming independent. Croatia had a
more difficult road to independence. The Yugoslav government, led by Serb
leader Slobodan Milošević sent military forces to thwart Croatia’s
efforts at independence. The resulting war lasted from 1991 to 1995.

In January 1992,
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia likewise declared independence. The resulting
war in Bosnia (1992-1995) was one of the deadliest periods of the conflict.
Serb forces lead campaigns of ethnic cleansing against Moslem Bosniaks, with
the worst massacre occurring in July 1995 in Srebrenica. The NATO bombing and
the Dayton Agreement signed in 1995 ended the war in Bosnia.

The next area of conflict
centered on Kosovo, an area historically integrated into Serbia. The Albanian
minority in Kosovo sought autonomy or independence. Milošević and the Slav government
responded with military force and NATO intervened to end the conflict. In 2001,
there were smaller-scale conflicts in Macedonia and in southern Serbia.

All sides in the Yugoslav
conflict were responsible for numerous crimes, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, and
mass rape. In April 2001, Milošević was arrested and extradited to
the ICTY; he is indicted on crimes of genocide in Bosnia and war crimes in
Croatia and Kosovo. The trial of Milošević and others continues to be
held in The Hague.

Overview
of the Court

The International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established in 1993 by United
Nations Security Council Resolution 827. The ICTY is authorized to prosecute
persons responsible for grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions,
violations of the laws of war, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The ICTY
can only hear cases concerning crimes committed on the territory of the former
Yugoslavia since 1991.

The ICTY is organized into
three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. Three permanent judges and a
maximum of six ad litem judges are members of each Trial Chamber. Seven
permanent judges are members of the Appeals Chamber. The working languages of
the ICTY are English and French.

Basic
Documents

The following basic
documents of the ICTY are available at the Court’s official
website.

The ICTY basic documents
are also available online at the University of
Minnesota Human Rights Library.

In print, see Basic
Documents International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible
for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the
Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 ([Netherlands:] United Nations,
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, 1995-).

Additionally, the ICTY
publishes The Yearbook ([Netherlands]: United Nations, ICTY, 1995-)
documenting the activities of the ICTY and recording speeches and other
background information.

Case
Law

Cases and
Judgements are found on the ICTY
website. All documents for individual parties are gathered in one place:
indictments, judgements, decisions, orders and transcripts. This is the best
source for up-to-date case law information.

ICTY Judgment Summaries (American University Washington College of Law)
See also Status Report for the ICTY.

In Westlaw (subscription database requiring a password), ICTY cases
are available in the INT-ICTY database.

Judicial Reports /
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia = Recueils
judiciaires / Tribunal pénal pour l’ex-Yougoslavie (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999-). This
includes indictments, orders, decisions and judgements. It is considered the
official print reporter for the ICTY, and is published for and on behalf of the
United Nations by Kluwer Law International / Martinus Nijhoff. This set runs
approximately five years behind—consult the ICTY website for the most
current case law.

UNMIK Current Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
See the United Nations peacekeeping operations
website for past U.N. operations in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

Overview
of the Conflict

The following section
briefly outlines of the events surrounding the 1994 Rwandan genocide. For a
more thorough treatment see Leave None to Tell the
Story: Genocide in Rwanda (Human Rights Watch).

Once a Belgian colony,
Rwanda has suffered from ethnic unrest for much of the past century. The
Belgian colonists’ favoritism toward the Tutsi tribe at the expense of the
majority Hutu tribe created ongoing resentment between these two ethnic groups.

In the early 1990s, the
Hutus controlled much of the governmental power. Tutsi rebels based in
neighboring Uganda formed a rebel unit called the Rwandese Patriotic Front
(RPF) which invaded Rwanda in October 1990. Two years of fighting ensued.
Following a cease-fire and protracted negotiations, the Arusha Accords were
signed in an attempt to bring peace to the country.

Ethnic tensions escalated
in the following months. Hutu militia began stockpiling weapons and using radio
broadcasts to incite Hutus to violence against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. On
April 6, 1994, an airplane carrying the Rwandan President Habyarimana and the
Burundian President Ntaryamira crashed and both presidents were killed. Shortly
following this, the Rwandan Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, was
assassinated. These events triggered widespread violence.

The Rwandan Genocide
lasted 100 days from April until July 1994. Approximately one million Tutsis
and moderate Hutus were killed by bands of militias known as the Interahamwe.
In one of the worst massacres, about 3,000 Tutsis sought protection in a local
church; the Interahamwe used bulldozers to knock down the church and killed
those who fled with machetes.

UNAMIR, the U.N.
peacekeeping force in Rwanda led by General Roméo Dallaire, was limited by its
mandate and the small size of its force to evacuating foreign nationals from
Rwanda. The genocide ended in July 1994 when the RPF, attacking from
neighboring Uganda and Tanzania, defeated the Hutu government.

Overview
of the Court

The International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was established in 1994 by United Nations Security
Counsel Resolution 955. The ICTR has the power to prosecute persons responsible
for serious violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of
Rwanda between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 1994. The ICTR can also
prosecute Rwandan citizens who committed such serious crimes in neighboring
countries during that same time period.

The ICTR has the power to
prosecute persons who committed genocide, crimes against humanity, and serious
violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. These broad categories of crimes
encompass such acts as conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide,
murder, torture, rape, the taking of hostages and acts of terrorism.

The ICTR is organized into
three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. Three permanent judges and a
maximum of four ad litem judges comprise each of the Trial Chambers.
Seven permanent judges serve as members of the Appeals Chamber. The working
languages of the ICTR are English and French.

Basic
Documents

The following basic
documents of the ICTR are available at the Court’s official
website under “Basic Legal Texts.”

1Security Council Resolutions

2Statute of the Tribunal

3Rules of Procedure and Evidence

4Practice Directions

5Directives

6Code of Professional Conduct
for Defense Counsel

7Rules covering the detention of
persons awaiting trial or appeal

8Prosecutor’s Regulation

9Bilateral Agreements
(headquarters agreement between the UN and Tanzania; agreements on the
enforcement of sentences of the ICTR between the UN and Sweden, Italy, France,
Swaziland, Benin and Mali)

In print, see
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Basic Documents (Arusha:
Tanzania: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, 1999).

Case
Law

Cases on the ICTR website. Most up-to-date posting of
indictments, decisions, judgements, case minutes, and status of detainees.

ICTR Judgment
Summaries (American University
Washington College of Law) See also Status Report
for the ICTR.

In Westlaw (subscription database requiring a password), ICTR cases
are available in the INT-ICTR database.

Eric David (ed.), Tribunal
pénal international pour le Rwanda: recueil des ordonnances, décisions et
arrêts, 1995-1997 = International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Reports of Orders,
Decisions and Judgements, 1995-1997 (Bruxelles: Bruylant, 2000). Unlike the ICTY, there is no official print
reporter for the ICTR. This volume is one print source for ICTR case law.

2Stephanie K. Wood, A Woman
Scorned for the “Least Condemned” War Crime: Precedent and Problems with
Prosecuting Rape as a Serious War Crime in the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda Columbia Journal of Gender and Law v. 13 pp. 274-327.

3Roméo Dallaire, Shake Hands
with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (New York, NY: Carroll
& Graf Publishers, 2003). Although not discussing the ICTR, this personal
narrative by the commander of forces for the U.N. peacekeeping operation in
Rwanda provides the reader with first-hand insight into the Rwandan genocide
and the surrounding military operations.

ICTR / Rwanda Links

1Rwanda Page (African Studies Center at the University of
Pennsylvania)

2Inkiko Gacaca The Rwandan website of “Gacaca Courts,” an
alternative justice system in Rwanda.

The conflict in Sierra
Leone in the 1990s is complicated, and in this section I only attempt to
outline the major political events of the time and introduce the major cast of
characters. For a more thorough treatment of this conflict, see Sierra Leone: Armed Conflicts Report.

In 1991, a rebel group
called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) sought to overthrow the republican
government of Sierra Leone. The RUF launched their attacks from neighboring
Liberia. An inter-state war ensued between Liberian troops, lead by Liberian
President Charles Taylor, and Sierra Leonean troops. In 1996, the President of
Sierra Leone, Ahmed Kabbah, negotiated a short-lived ceasefire agreement.

Kabbah was overthrown in
1997 by a group called the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). The AFRC
invited the RUF to join the government of Sierra Leone. As a result, the rebel
RUF / AFRC groups were pitted against the Civil Defense Forces (CDF), a
pro-government militia. All sides were responsible for countless crimes against
the civilian population, including executions, torture, rape, mutilation and
the inscription of child-soldiers.

In 1998, Kabbah’s
government was reinstated and in 1999 the Lome Peace Agreement was signed,
which granted amnesty to members of the RUF. The RUF violated the terms of the
Lome Agreement by committing various acts of violence. Fighting erupted once
again and additional cease-fire agreements were negotiated. With the assistance
of UN peacekeeping forces, disarmament and a reduction of hostilities followed.
In 2000, the government of Sierra Leone approached the United Nations and
requested assistance in forming a criminal court to try the worst of the
perpetrators.

Overview
of Court

The Special Court for
Sierra Leone (SCSL) is a hybrid court established by an agreement between the
United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone on August 14, 2000. The SCSL
is authorized to prosecute persons responsible for the most serious crimes
committed on the territory of Sierra Leone since November 30, 1996.

The SCSL has the power to
prosecute persons who committed the following three categories of crimes:
crimes against humanity, crimes in violation of international humanitarian law
and serious crimes under Sierra Leonean law. The Special Court is made up of at
least eight and no more than eleven judges who are organized into a Trial
Chamber and an Appeals Chamber. The working language of the court is English.
Currently (July 2005), the SCSL is hearing the trials of nine accused persons,
from all three of the former warring factions—the RUF, AFRC and the CDF.
The Prosecutor has issued indictments against four other individuals, including
former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who is still at large.

Basic
Documents

All basic documents of the
SCSL are available at the Court’s official website.

1Agreement between the United
Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone on the Establishment of the Special
Court for Sierra Leone (16 January 2002)

2Statute of the Special Court
for Sierra Leone (annexed to the Agreement, 16 January 2002)

3Special Court Agreement (2002)
Ratification Act

4Rules of Procedure and Evidence

5Headquarters Agreement between
the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Special Court for Sierra Leone

The SCSL basic documents
are also available online at the No Peace Without
Justice—Sierra Leone site.

There is no official print
publication of the SCSL basic documents. The SCSL Statute and Rules of
Procedure and Evidence are reprinted in International Criminal Practice (See
Multi-Court Sources—Online and In Print, this guide).

Case
Law

At this point, no final
judgments have been handed down against any of the accused on trial before the
SCSL. Indictments, summaries of the charges, decisions, and transcripts are
available from the SCSL website for the CDF accused,
the RUF accused, and the AFRC accused.

Selected
Print Sources & Links

Print Sources

The SCSL is a relative
newcomer among international courts. Because of this, scholarship focusing
directly on the Special Court can be found primarily in journal articles.
Selected articles are listed below; electronically available through databases
such as Lexis, Westlaw, Academic Search Premier and/or JSTOR.

1Diane Marie Amann, Calling
Children to Account: The Proposal for a Juvenile Chamber in the Special Court
for Sierra Leone Pepperdine Law Review v. 29 no. 1 (December 2001) pp.
167-85.

2Daniel J. Macaluso, Absolute
and Free Pardon: The Effect of the Amnesty Provision in the Lome Peace
Agreement on the Jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
Brooklyn Journal of International Law v. 27 no. 1 (2002) pp. 347-80.

3M.C. Nicol-Wilson, Accountability
for Human Rights Abuses: The United Nations’ Special Court for Sierra Leone
Australian International Law Journal (Annual 2001) pp. 159-76.

5Genocide, War Crimes
and Crimes Against Humanity: Topical Digests of the Case Law of the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(Human Rights Watch)

2John R.W.D. Jones, International
Criminal Practice: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia, the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Court,
the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the East Timor Special Panel for Serious
Crimes, War Crimes Prosecutions in Kosovo (Ardsley, NY: Transnational
Publishers, 2003).

The Genocide Studies Program at Yale University hosts a Rwandan Genocide Project, a source of articles, maps
and the beta version of a victims database.

The University of Memphis
and the Pennsylvania State University, Altoona College campus supports the Genocide
Resource Project, which has produced Genocide:
Resources for Teaching and Research. The site includes syllabi for courses on genocide, and links on the Balkans, Bosnia, and Rwanda.

The
International War Crimes Project (New
England School of Law) Law students involved in this project provide legal
research and analysis to the Prosecutors of the ICTY and the ICTR.

Other
Research Guides

1War Crimes (Georgetown University Law Center)

2International
Criminal Courts (Southern Methodist
University)

3Research Guide: The
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Columbia Law School)

4International
Criminal Law (ASIL)

Selected
Bibliography

The following print and
online sources were consulted in writing the “Overview of the Conflict”
sections of this guide:

1Countries of the World and
Their Leaders Yearbook 2004
(Detroit: Gale Research, 1980-).